At a loss of the appropriate term to describe the numerous elections and transitional governments that have characterized the African scene just now, I decided to borrow from the concept of collective nouns that has standard terms for particular groups of things, animals and so on, like a knot of toads, a parliament of owls, a congregation of alligators etc. I call it a “belly” of elections though to emphasize the number and frequency at which elections have occurred, considering that the “belly” stows a lot of things literarily and figuratively.
I start off with Mali where there was a heated debate
on the political scene as to whether or not the election should hold, owing to
the strong possibility that it may not give the desired effect. Within a very
short time, Mali went through a lot of trauma, which rendered a state that was
once known for its serenity, stable but somewhat imperfect democracy as well as
its position as some sort of cultural capital being home to notable historical
sites and artifacts that are under UNESCO, into something of a “ghost town”.
The economy, society and political stage came under
threat, first upturned by a Military coup, then harassed by insurgents, and
then further demoralized by extremists who threatened to split the country into
two, which resulted in a transitional government that didn’t quite gain its
place as an institution of authority over the populace. Everything happened
very fast, but the people were resilient in their hope, having tried all these
forms of leadership within the shortest possible space of time, they still
believed that the election was their last chance at the unity and serenity they
once enjoyed. Experts on Mali kept
asking if election was the automatic solution to all the woes that befell this
small country, more depressing on the subject of change was also the fact that
majority of the 27 candidates had served in almost all the regimes - previous
and present. Nevertheless this did not deter the Malians, they flooded the
polling stations and completed a peaceful round of voting and now the stage is
set for the 2nd round with Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Soumaila Cisse
going head to head! But then again, the question still hovers, what comes next?
I now head to Zimbabwe which happens to be more
theatrical, where the legislature amended the country’s constitution, and the
citizens accepted it in a referendum which got the support of the two sides
sharing the country’s power. Another debate ensued about when to set the
election date; the opposition MDC wanted reforms before a date was set but
President Robert Mugabe in his characteristic manner insisted on the 31st
of July, he even threatened to withdraw Zimbabwe’s membership from the regional
bloc SADC not minding that it is the lifeline of its ailing economy. Mr. Mugabe
and his ZANU PF party pride themselves with having the support of the rural
populace who fit the description of the ordinary man that every politician
tries to empathize with. However, two issues take center stage, it was alleged
that the voter roll disenfranchised a lot of voters, and in the same breath, it
was confirmed that all rural eligible voters were registered as such those who
had problems of disenfranchisement were mainly middle class urban voters who
support Tsvangirai’s MDC. The African Union observers led by Olusegun Obasanjo
former president of Nigeria did not deny that there were irregularities in the
vote, but they submitted that they were not enough to render it dishonest and
unfair. So I wonder how much of a threat is the urban middle class to Mugabe?
OF EGYPT AND TUNISIA
The situation in Egypt and Tunisia is frightful, in
spite of the loss of lives in especially Egypt, there isn’t a sign of respite In
an article he wrote in the TIME magazine on the 12th of July 2013
titled “Egypt must reach out to the Islamists it is now jailing” Fareed Zakaria
who hosts the programme GPS on CNN international made the following remarks
Look at the world from the perspective
of someone who embraces Islamic politics. In 1991, Islamists won in national
elections in Algeria that were free and fair, with dozens of parties contesting
and an open and lively campaign. The Algerian military annulled the results and
unleashed a campaign of arrests and violence against the party that won. In
1995, Islamists won the elections in Turkey, only to have the Turkish military
force the party out of power two years later in what is often referred to as a
“soft coup.” In 2006, Hamas won Palestinian elections—triggering a boycott of
the newly elected government by the U.S. and most of its allies. In Egypt, the
Brotherhood won at the polls three times. It won in the parliamentary
elections, in the presidential election and then in its referendum for the new
constitution, which passed with 64% of the vote. Last year a judge dissolved
the lower house of parliament, and now the constitution has been suspended and
the President is in jail.
As we wait to see the outcome of the standoff in Egypt right now, one can't help but contemplate the future of democracy in the Arab world, however, what role can we give to lessons learnt in order to have a way forward?
Wishing IBK in Mali the best of luck
